Bottle cap removing and disposing means



June 28, 1966 A. J. COPPOLA 3,257,872

BOTTLE CAP REMOVING AND DISPOSING MEANS Filed 001;. 29, 1964 I N VEN TOR.

i 4 BY ANTHONY J. GOPPOLA ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,257,872 BOTTLE CAP REMOVING AND DISPOSING MEANS Anthony J. Coppola, 1834 William St., Buffalo, N.Y. Filed Oct. 29, 1964, Ser. No. 407,423 2 Claims. (Cl. ill-3.1)

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 231,175, filed October 17, '1962, now abandoned.

This invention relates to improvements in devices for prying oil and disposing of so-called crown caps or other detachable caps as used on beverage bottles and the like.

I am aware that various arrangements have been previously devised for the purpose of prying off and catching and disposing of bottle caps as they are pried loose from beverage bottles, so as to direct the caps into suitable waste receptacles instead of permitting them to simply fall upon the floor or other nearby surface; but it is the object of the present invention to provide certain improvements with respect to such devices, as will be pointed out hereinafter.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view through a counter top and a device of the invention which is attached thereto; and showing a beverage bottle as initially disposed in operative position therein;

FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 but showing the bottle and cap positions at the end of the decapping operation;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view as along line IIIIII of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a detached perspective view of the device of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, of the drawing as being mounted to extend from beneath a board 16 which may comprise an outstanding edge portion of a restaurant or bar counter or thelike; and a suitable chute or tube 12 is indicated as being disposed in connection with the rear opening of the device to receive and lead away the detached bottle caps to any convenient point of disposal such as to a receptacle under the counter. Or, the chute 12 may extend through the-floor into a cellar receptacle. The device of the invention is indicated generally at 14 and consists of a bent sheet metal fabrication or casting formed generally U-shaped so as to comprise a bottom wall portion 16, and a pair of side panels 18-18 which terminate at their upper ends in outwardly bent flange portions 19-19. The flange portions 1919 are apertured as indicated at 2l 2t to accommodate woodscrews or the like as indicated at 21 (FIG. 1) so that the device may be rigidly mounted against the bottom surface of the counter board or the like as shown in the drawing.

The flange portions 1919 are formed so as to mount the device in such manner that the bottom wall portion 16 thereof is disposed to incline downwardly from the horizontal plane of the counter board 10; and the flange and screw elements are arranged so as to mount the device with the front portion thereof to be substantially flush with the edge of the counter top. The side panels 1818 are cut away or notched as indicated at 22 to provide upper ledge portions 23-23 to which the side portions 24-24 of a U-shaped cap pry-01f blade member 25 are detachably mounted, as by means of screws 26.

Thus, the cap pry-off blade member 25 is provided to span the space between the upper ledge portions 23-23 of the bracket side walls 1818. The member 25 comprises a slightly arcuately bent metal blade portion formed with an aperture 27 into which the capped end of a beverage bottle as indicated at 28 may be hooked so that the cap ice 29 thereof engages under the front edge of the blade 25. Then, upon downward pressure against the neck of the bottle 28 the cap 29 will be pried loose from the end of the bottle, and the loosened cap will fall free from the end of the bottle as the latter is withdrawn from the device.

In order to facilitate the cap removal process and prevent such loosened caps from falling to clutter the floor in the neighborhood of the device, a bottle fulcrum and movable cap receiver is provided in the form of a slide plate 30 which is of suchsize and shape as to slip-fit within the body structure comprising the bottom plate 16 and the side panels 18-18 in telescopically sliding relation. To guide the slide member 30 and to maintain it in assembled relation, the side walls 1818 are formed with struck-out tab portions as indicated at 3232 to slidably hold down the side edges of the member 30. A tension spring 34 connects at one end to a finger portion 35 which extends from the member 30, and the spring 34 connects at its other end to a finger portion 36 which extends from the bottom wall 16 of the bracket.

At its outer end the slide member 30 is concave shaped as indicated at 42 (FIGS. 3-4) so as to smoothly cradle the neck of the bottle 28 when the latter is pressed downwardly in such manner as to disengage the cap 29 therefrom. Hence the neck of the bottle 28 naturally settles into the recessed portion of the slide member during operation of the device, and the parts are so dimensioned and relatively arranged that whenever it is desired to remove a cap from a bottle the cap end portion of the bottle is simply thrust into the aperture 27 of the cap remover and into the position of the parts as shown in FIG. 1. At this time the cap on the bottle is readily visible from in front of the device, through the viewing aperture indicated at 44 (FIGS. 1, 2) whereby the operator may be sure that the cap is disposed in proper position while he presses down upon the bottle. Then upon downward levering pressure on the bottle 28 the cap 29 will be removed, while at the same time the slide member 30 retracts in close bearing relation against the neck of the bottle 28 due to the pressure applied by the bottle againstthe end of the slide member and the resiliency of the spring 34.

Thus, throughout the entire extent of levering movement of the bottle 28 the outer end of the slide 30 will closely hug the neck of the bottle. Therefore, regardless of What stage of the operation the cap becomes disengaged and falls free under the forces of gravity, the slide 30 will catch the detached cap and guide it to slide downwardly inside of the device so as to be directed thereby to fall into the receptacle 12. This optimum guiding operation of the detached cap will be effected whether the cap falls free from the bottle during the downwardly levering motion of the bottle or during a return upward movement of the bottle, or at-any time whenever the cap falls free.

It is afeature of the device of the present invention that the cap remover portion thereof is so arranged that the loosened cap cannot jam therein. This is accomplished by locating the rear blade edge of the aperture 27 so that the cap 29 is engaged by the rear edge of the blade member at about the middle of the cap. Furthermore, the rear edge portion of the blade is formed with an upwardly bent lip as indicated at 46 so that the cap 29 is not subjected to a crimping action as it is pried off the bottle neck, such as would interfere with its smooth disengagement and disposal down the discharge chute of the device. Hence, when the bottle is removed, the cap simply falls straight down without interference, and there fore always falls free. Also, as is evident from the drawing, the cap receiving slide device is so arranged that the bottle neck may be introduced to the cap remover as shown in FIG. 1 without interference by the slide mech- Patented June 28, 1966 anism by simple handling of the bottle in the most natural manner.

It is another feature of the present invention that the spring-pressed slide member 30 reacts against the upper neck portion of the bottle 28, as the cap is leve'red free from the bottle, in such manner as to automatically assist the operator, as an incident to the cap removing process. Thus, the bottle is urged automatically by the device from the substantially horizontal attitude thereof shown in FIGURE 1 into the upright position thereof shown in FIGURE 2. Hence, as shown diagrammatically in FIGURE 2 by means of the directional arrows, the slide 30 operates to guide the now-opened upper end of the bottle laterally and outwardly from under the cappry blade 25 so as to be completely free from the latter; while at the same time contributing to the disposition of the opened bottle into an upright attitude, thereby preventing spillage of liquid from the bottle as the operator carries it away.

Still another important feature of the construction of the present invention is that the blade member 25 is easily replaceable after wearing or other damage, by simply releasing the screws 26. Furthermore, this design permits construction of the body portion of the device from easily moldable metal while making the blade member 25 of hardened steel or the like so as to provide a blade member of maximum performance capabilities.

It will be understood, of course, that various changes may be made in respect to details of the construction without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A combination bottle cap pry-off and cap catching mechanism for delivering detached caps to a receptacle; comprising a member adapted to be mounted upon a counter or the like, said member comprising a generally U-shaped bracket including a pair of spaced side wall portions each terminating in an out-turned flange apertured for mounting the member upon a counter and interconnected by an integrally formed bottom wall portion, said side wall portions each being inwardly notched to provide a pair of parallel downwardly directed ledge portions, said ledge portions being apertured, a generally U-shaped blade member having its opposite side portions apertured and detachably mounted upon said ledge portions and an integrally formed bottom plate portion relatively bracing said bracket side wall portions, said bottom plate portion being apertured to provide parallel front and back blade edges so that the neck of a capped bottle may be disposed with the upper edge of the cap extending into said aperture and hooked behind the front blade edge of said apertured portion while the mid-portion of said cap is pressed against the back blade edge of said apertured portion, the back blade edge of said blade memher having a turned-up portion against which the midportion of said cap bears and rolls while being pried loose from its bottle, and a detached cap receiving and delivery slide member mounted upon the bottom wall portion of said bracket to extend in slidable relation thereon and in inclined attitude into abutting relation at its upper end with the neck of the bottle disposed in cap disengaging position, spring means biasing said slide member into abutting bearing relation against the bottle neck and permitting said slide member to retreat and to move relative to said bracket in response to downward levering of the bottle in connection with cap disconnecting operations while exerting resilient pressure against the upper end of the bottle thereby sealing the juncture therebetween against spillage of loose caps therebetween and tending to displace the bottle into upright non-spilling attitude when released from its cap, the upper end portion of said slide member being centrally recessed for receiving the bottle neck in automatic centering relation thereon, the lower end portion of said slide member being arranged to discharge detached caps sliding thereon by gravity through the bracket member into a cap receiver.

2. A combination bottle cap pry-off and cap catching mechanism for delivering detached caps to a receptacle; comprising a member adapted to be mounted upon a counter or the like, said member comprising a generally U-shaped bracket including a pair of spaced side wall portions each terminating in a flange for mounting the member upon a counter, said side wall portions being interconnected by an integrally formed downwardly sloping bottom wall portion, said side wall portions each being inwardly notched at their forward edges to provide -a pair of parallel downwardly directed ledge portions, a

generally U-shaped blade member having its opposite side portions detachably mounted upon said ledge portions and having an integrally formed bottom plate portion relatively bracing said bracket side wall portions, said bottom plate portion being formed with .a bottle cap insert aperture and thereby providing front and back blade edges so that a capped bottle may be disposed with the upper edge of its cap extending into said aperture and 'hooked behind the front blade edge of said blade member while the mid-portion of said cap is pressed against the back blade edge of said blade member, the back blade edge of said blade member having a turned-up lip portion against which said cap bears and rolls while being pried loose from its bottle, a detached cap receiving and delivery slide member mounted upon the bottom wall portion of said bracket to extend in slidable relation thereon and in inclined attitude into abutting relation at its upper end with the neck of the bottle disposed in cap disengaging position, spring means biasing said slide member into abutting bearing relation against the bottle neck and permitting said slide member to retreat and to move relative to said bracket in response to downward levering of the bottle in connection with cap disconnecting operations while exerting resilient pressure against the upper end of the bottle thereby sealing the juncture therebetween against spillage of loose caps therebetween and tending to displace the bottle into upright non-spilling attitude when released from its cap, the upper end portion of said slide member being centrally recessed for receiving the bottle neck in automatic centering relation thereon, the lower end portion of said slide member being arranged to discharge detached caps sliding thereon by gravity through the bracket member into a cap receiver.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,684,285 9/1928 McDonald. 2,029,804 2/1936 Williamson 8l3.1 2,808,747 10/1957 Cohen 81-3.1 X

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

J. L. JONES, In, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A COMBINATION BOTTLE CAP PRY-OFF AND CAP CATCHING MECHANISM FOR DELIVERING DETACHED CAPS TO A RECEPTACLE; COMPRISING A MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED UPON A COUNTER OF THE LIKE, SAID MEMBER COMPRISING A GENERALLY U-SHAPED BRACKET INCLUDING A PAIR OF SPACED SIDE WALL PORTIONS EACH TERMINATING IN AN OUT-TURNED FLANGE APERTURED FOR MOUNTING THE MEMBER UPON A COUNTER AND INTERCONNECTED BY AN INTEGRALLY FORMED BOTTOM WALL PORTION, SAID SIDE WALL PORTIONS EACH BEING INWARDLY NOTCHED TO PROVIDE A PAIR OF PARALLEL DOWNWARDLY DIRECTED LEDGE PORTIONS, SAID LEDGE PORTIONS BEING APERTURED, A GENERALLY U-SHAPED BLADE MEMBER HAVING ITS OPPOSITE SIDE PORTION APERTURED AND DETACHABLY MOUNTED UPON SAID LEDGE PORTIONS AND AN INTEGRALLY FORMED BOTTOM PLATE PORTION RELATIVELY BRACING SAID BRACKET SIDE WALL PORTIONS, SAID BOTTOM PLATE PORTION BEING APERTURED TO PROVIDE PARALLEL FROM AND BACK BLADE EDGES SO THAT THE NECK OF A CAPPED BOTTLE MAY BE DISPOSED WITH THE UPPER EDGE OF THE CAP EXTENDING INTO SAID APERTURE AND HOOKED BEHIND THE FRONT BLADE EDGE OF SAID APERTURED PORTION WHILE THE MID-PORTION OF SAID CAP IS PRESSED AGAINST THE BACK BLADE EDGE OF SAID APERTURED PORTION, THE BACK BLADE EDGE OF SAID BLADE MEMBER HAVING A TURNED-UP PORTION AGAINST WHICH THE MIDPORTION OF SAID CAP BEING AND ROLLS WHILE BEING PRIED LOOSE FROM ITS BOTTLE, AND A DETACHED CAP RECEIVED AND DELIVERY SLIDE MEMBER MOUNTED UPON THE BOTTOM WALL PORTION OF SAID BRACKET TO EXTEND IN SLIDABLE RELATION THEREON AND IN INCLINED ATTITUDE INTO ABUTTING RELATION AT ITS UPPER END WITH THE NECK OF THE BOTTLE DISPOSED IN CAP DISENGAGING POSITIONS, SPRING MEANS BIASING SAID SLIDE MEMBER INTO ABUTTING BEARING RELATION AGAINST THE BOTTLE NECK AND PERMITTING SAID SLIDE MEMBER TO RETREAT AND TO MOVE RELATIVE TO SAID BRACKET IN RESPONSE TO DOWNWARD LEVERING OF THE BOTTLE IN CONNECTION WITH CAP DISCONNECTING OPERATIONS WHILE EXERTING RESILIENT PRESSURE AGAINST THE UPPER END OF THE BOTTLE THEREBY SEALING THE JUNCTURE THEREBETWEEN AGAINST SPILLAGE OF LOOSE CAPS THEREBETWEEN SAID TENDING TO DISPLACE THE BOTTLE INTO UPRIGHT NON-SPILLING ATTITUDE WHEN RELEASED FROM ITS CAP, THE UPPER END PORTION OF SAID SLIDE MEMBER BEING CENTRALLY RECESSED FOR RECEIVING THE BOTTLE NECK IN AUTOMATIC CENTERING RELATION THEREON, THE LOWER END PORTION OF SAID SLIDE MEMBER BEING ARRANGED TO DISCAHRGE DETACHED CAPS SLIDING THEREON BY GRAVITY THROUGH THE BRACKET MEMBER INTO A CAP RECEIVER. 